David Patrick McKenzie
@dpmckenzie.bsky.social
Public history consultant, sometimes digital & academic historian. GMU PhD in 19c US-LatAm history—US citizens living in Mexico’s interior, 1821-46. Formerly of Folger, Ford’s Theatre, Capital Jewish Museum, Design Minds, Alamo.
Wide-ranging interview with transnational historian Erika Pani by Ben Vinson III for @historians.org — so many gems, and loving her work on showing just how intertwined 19c US & Mexico really were. https://www.historians.org/perspectives-article/an-exciting-political-laboratory/
November 16, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Wide-ranging interview with transnational historian Erika Pani by Ben Vinson III for @historians.org — so many gems, and loving her work on showing just how intertwined 19c US & Mexico really were. https://www.historians.org/perspectives-article/an-exciting-political-laboratory/
I should’ve been more suspicious when @markwarner.bsky.social’s office was taking voicemails today and @kaine.senate.gov’s was not…
My statement on the funding deal to reopen government, protect federal employees, and vote to protect health care:
November 10, 2025 at 2:02 AM
I should’ve been more suspicious when @markwarner.bsky.social’s office was taking voicemails today and @kaine.senate.gov’s was not…
Reposted by David Patrick McKenzie
Here’s today’s thread once more for the evening crowd. Please share all this great public scholarship widely, thanks! @hcrichardson.bsky.social 🗃️
Here it is, my 249th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below in comments, please share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
#ScholarSunday Thread 249 (11/9/25) – Black and White and Read All Over
Here it is, my 249th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below in comments, please share as widely as...
blackwhiteandread.com
November 9, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Here’s today’s thread once more for the evening crowd. Please share all this great public scholarship widely, thanks! @hcrichardson.bsky.social 🗃️
How does this analysis of journalists’ attitudes toward social media platforms track with those of museum professionals’ and public historians’ attitudes over time? Parallels & comparisons? www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/jour...
Journalists are souring on social media platforms, an analysis of 11 years of Nieman Lab predictions suggests
While these predictions suggest that the journalistic community’s enthusiasm for social media platforms has waned over time, there has been no such change in the perceptions of the people actually usi...
www.niemanlab.org
November 8, 2025 at 5:11 PM
How does this analysis of journalists’ attitudes toward social media platforms track with those of museum professionals’ and public historians’ attitudes over time? Parallels & comparisons? www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/jour...
Reposted by David Patrick McKenzie
Latinx communities across the USA have been targeted by ICE. This summer, four LA historical and cultural institutions spoke out in solidarity, amongst silence in the museum sector.
Mary Rizzo on the role of museums in not only historical storytelling, but taking a stand:
Mary Rizzo on the role of museums in not only historical storytelling, but taking a stand:
No Going Back
Mary Rizzo examines how four LA historical and cultural institutions mobilize history and practice solidarity in the fight against immigration raids and deportations.
www.historyworkshop.org.uk
October 14, 2025 at 6:14 AM
Latinx communities across the USA have been targeted by ICE. This summer, four LA historical and cultural institutions spoke out in solidarity, amongst silence in the museum sector.
Mary Rizzo on the role of museums in not only historical storytelling, but taking a stand:
Mary Rizzo on the role of museums in not only historical storytelling, but taking a stand:
Know a young filmmaker 14 to 22? Encourage them to join in Lincoln Presidential Foundation's Latest Generation Film Contest—opportunity to speak their voices & learn about nuanced historical storytelling through film. Two sessions this month! More info: www.lincolnpresidential.org/events/upcom...
November 4, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Know a young filmmaker 14 to 22? Encourage them to join in Lincoln Presidential Foundation's Latest Generation Film Contest—opportunity to speak their voices & learn about nuanced historical storytelling through film. Two sessions this month! More info: www.lincolnpresidential.org/events/upcom...
Glad for @renatakeller.bsky.social’s new work on Americas in Cuban Missile Crisis. Especially appreciate how she says “in Cuba,” as opposed to the “on Cuba” that others so often use in this context—showing Cuba as a sovereign nation, not a pawn. theconversation.com/the-lost-his...
The lost history of Latin America’s role in averting catastrophe during the Cuban missile crisis
A common US-centric narrative holds that the Cuban missile crisis ended when Washington stood firm against the Soviets. But that story ignores a whole continent.
theconversation.com
November 2, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Glad for @renatakeller.bsky.social’s new work on Americas in Cuban Missile Crisis. Especially appreciate how she says “in Cuba,” as opposed to the “on Cuba” that others so often use in this context—showing Cuba as a sovereign nation, not a pawn. theconversation.com/the-lost-his...
Watching my Pitt Panthers in their Atlantic Coast Conference game against... Stanford, playing in California... 🤷♂️
November 1, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Watching my Pitt Panthers in their Atlantic Coast Conference game against... Stanford, playing in California... 🤷♂️
Excited to be in Cincinnati for #aaslh2025. Enjoyed checking out the fascinating exhibits at National Underground Railroad Freedom Center at the conference event tonight, and getting to catch up with old colleagues/friends and meet new ones. And walk to Kentucky!
September 11, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Excited to be in Cincinnati for #aaslh2025. Enjoyed checking out the fascinating exhibits at National Underground Railroad Freedom Center at the conference event tonight, and getting to catch up with old colleagues/friends and meet new ones. And walk to Kentucky!
Reposted by David Patrick McKenzie
In a more serious vein, what do you hope to get out of #aaslh2025? What is the most pressing issue facing museums today? What do you hope to learn? This is our conference, let’s make the most of it. @aaslh.org #museum
September 9, 2025 at 1:41 PM
In a more serious vein, what do you hope to get out of #aaslh2025? What is the most pressing issue facing museums today? What do you hope to learn? This is our conference, let’s make the most of it. @aaslh.org #museum
Who else is going to the @aaslh.org conference this week? I’ll be there (first time attending since 2021) Wednesday-Friday!
September 8, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Who else is going to the @aaslh.org conference this week? I’ll be there (first time attending since 2021) Wednesday-Friday!
Thread. 🧵
Having sat with it for a bit, I'm still struggling with this document.
The document is at once very cautious, and effusive. The text of the guidance itself is pretty good--in fact, I think they point out a lot of ways in which generative AI is a terrible thing for doing history.
The document is at once very cautious, and effusive. The text of the guidance itself is pretty good--in fact, I think they point out a lot of ways in which generative AI is a terrible thing for doing history.
The AHA has published Guiding Principles for Artificial Intelligence in History Education, offering a disciplinary approach to AI that focuses on the specific needs and challenges of history educators. 🗃️
August 6, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Thread. 🧵
Great piece by Miriam Pensack on the Panama Canal. Some of the special status that Zonians acquired—and, as she discusses, even today try to restore—reminded me of special status some U.S. citizens in Mexico’s interior tried to claim as early as the 1820s.
“The first generation of Zonians came from a range of backgrounds—some were engineers, others manual laborers—yet all found themselves on a preferential end of a system of Jim Crow–style segregation that the US exported to [Panama].” —Miriam Pensack
‘The Canal Is Ours’ | Miriam Pensack
On the morning of December 31, 1999, hundreds of people gathered at the base of the Panama Canal Administration Building, a sweeping, colonial-style beige
buff.ly
July 12, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Great piece by Miriam Pensack on the Panama Canal. Some of the special status that Zonians acquired—and, as she discusses, even today try to restore—reminded me of special status some U.S. citizens in Mexico’s interior tried to claim as early as the 1820s.
What are folks' suggestions for a synthesis of U.S.-Mexico diplomatic relations? Looking for overall framework that provides a backdrop for more specific readings in a wide-ranging class. I have Zoraida Vázquez and Meyer's "The United States & Mexico" but that's a few decades old... Something newer?
July 1, 2025 at 4:50 PM
What are folks' suggestions for a synthesis of U.S.-Mexico diplomatic relations? Looking for overall framework that provides a backdrop for more specific readings in a wide-ranging class. I have Zoraida Vázquez and Meyer's "The United States & Mexico" but that's a few decades old... Something newer?
@elfaroenglish.bsky.social is among best journalistic outlets—essential info on Central America—and has outdone itself with this look at an enemies list of a former Salvadoran dictator. An excellent demonstration of reading outward from a single primary source. beta.elfaro.net/en/the-tertu...
In the Eyes of Maximiliano, Everyone Was an Enemy
Those who speak nostalgically of Maximiliano Hernández Martínez overlook the fact that he persecuted the most important businessmen, politicians and professionals on the Left and Right, and military p...
beta.elfaro.net
June 21, 2025 at 7:44 PM
@elfaroenglish.bsky.social is among best journalistic outlets—essential info on Central America—and has outdone itself with this look at an enemies list of a former Salvadoran dictator. An excellent demonstration of reading outward from a single primary source. beta.elfaro.net/en/the-tertu...
Reposted by David Patrick McKenzie
A brief thread on Texas history and Juneteenth. Years ago, I head historian Ed Ayers observe that emancipation was the single most important event in U.S. history, yet one we don't mark with a holiday. /1
June 19, 2025 at 11:35 AM
A brief thread on Texas history and Juneteenth. Years ago, I head historian Ed Ayers observe that emancipation was the single most important event in U.S. history, yet one we don't mark with a holiday. /1
Reposted by David Patrick McKenzie
At the risk of screaming into the void: if you care about American history, you should care about the 250th. This is a rare chance to reintroduce history to broad swaths of the American public, to redefine public engagement with history for a generation. Don’t cede the whole thing to Trump.
I’ve been helping the U.S. history community prepare for the 250th for EIGHT YEARS now. AASLH was getting people to think about this before there was a congressional commission. Seeing it all get hijacked and derailed this way at the last moment is so gutting.
May 9, 2025 at 2:24 AM
At the risk of screaming into the void: if you care about American history, you should care about the 250th. This is a rare chance to reintroduce history to broad swaths of the American public, to redefine public engagement with history for a generation. Don’t cede the whole thing to Trump.
Best way to start @omarvaleriojimenez.bsky.social latest book: curled up on the couch with new-to-us schnauzer with NBA Playoffs on mute in the background.
May 8, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Best way to start @omarvaleriojimenez.bsky.social latest book: curled up on the couch with new-to-us schnauzer with NBA Playoffs on mute in the background.
Reposted by David Patrick McKenzie
The MLA, @acls1919.bsky.social, and @historians.org have filed a lawsuit in federal district court today, seeking to reverse the recent actions to devastate the National Endowment for the Humanities. www.mla.org/Resources/Ad...
Joint Lawsuit over Dismantling of National Endowment for the...
(New York, NY) — The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the American Historical Association (AHA), and the Modern Language Association (MLA) filed a lawsuit in federal district court today,...
www.mla.org
May 1, 2025 at 7:28 PM
The MLA, @acls1919.bsky.social, and @historians.org have filed a lawsuit in federal district court today, seeking to reverse the recent actions to devastate the National Endowment for the Humanities. www.mla.org/Resources/Ad...
Reposted by David Patrick McKenzie
Reposted by David Patrick McKenzie
In a few days it’s gonna be May, but right now it’s gonna be my 222nd #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
americanstudier.substack.com/p/scholarsun...
americanstudier.substack.com/p/scholarsun...
#ScholarSunday Thread 222
Published on April 27, 2025
americanstudier.substack.com
April 27, 2025 at 11:54 AM
In a few days it’s gonna be May, but right now it’s gonna be my 222nd #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
americanstudier.substack.com/p/scholarsun...
americanstudier.substack.com/p/scholarsun...
One of the better analyses I’ve seen of the intertwined crises of our most recent order leading to our current moment. By @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com, h/t @americanstudier.bsky.social and his always amazing #ScholarSunday www.liberalcurrents.com/the-present-...
The Present Crisis and the End of the Long '90s
The constitutional settlement that governed America from the end of the Volcker Shock in 1982 to the re-election of Donald Trump in 2024 encompassed three profound domains: politics, economics, and cu...
www.liberalcurrents.com
April 27, 2025 at 2:48 PM
One of the better analyses I’ve seen of the intertwined crises of our most recent order leading to our current moment. By @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com, h/t @americanstudier.bsky.social and his always amazing #ScholarSunday www.liberalcurrents.com/the-present-...
Reposted by David Patrick McKenzie
On this 160th anniversary of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, I quote from his magisterial Gettysburg Address, 1863: "that this nation . . . shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
April 14, 2025 at 10:58 PM
On this 160th anniversary of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, I quote from his magisterial Gettysburg Address, 1863: "that this nation . . . shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
At #DCHistCon, learning about images from DC history from Madeliene Ivey, Lauren Rever, Casey Sease, and Anne Dobberteen. Enjoying seeing images of school trips from the Central Photo Company.
April 4, 2025 at 2:55 PM
At #DCHistCon, learning about images from DC history from Madeliene Ivey, Lauren Rever, Casey Sease, and Anne Dobberteen. Enjoying seeing images of school trips from the Central Photo Company.
Beautiful piece by @monicahesse.bsky.social on the complex stories found in the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery: wapo.st/3E5Ljsf
Opinion | What exactly does Trump think is in the Smithsonian?
Following his most recent executive order, I went in search of some “corrosive ideology.”
wapo.st
April 4, 2025 at 3:48 AM
Beautiful piece by @monicahesse.bsky.social on the complex stories found in the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery: wapo.st/3E5Ljsf